Demountable house



March 28, 1944. J. R. PETTER DEMOUNTABLE HOUSE Filed Aug. 27, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 1944- J. R. PETTER DEMOUNTABLE HOUSE Filed Aug. 27, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Mar. 28, 1944 DEMOUNTABLE HOUSE John R. Petter, Pine Blnfl's, m, as'signor of onetenth to Grace W. Tellier, Little Rock, Ark.

Application August 27, 1942, Serial No. 456,397

9 Claims.

This invention relates to small wooden frame demountable dwelling'houses of pre-fabricated construction, such as is adapted for emergency housing for war workers, and aims to provide a cheap and substantial structure with demountable advantages, and adaptability to a number of alternate uses without varying manufacturing set up.

Further objects of the invention are to support the roof independently of the walls and partitions, thereby permitting the interior arrangements to be modified to suit the requirements of each individual house, to brace the side walls from the roof and vice versa, and to utilize simple foundations of much smaller area than the floor plan for supporting the roof structure.

The invention essentially comprises a central framework of four columns to which two systems of opposed outwardly projecting horizontal cantilever beams are secured with their cantilever arms extending to the outer walls for supporting the upper floor or roof panels, and prefabricated fioor or roof panels balanced on the first system of cantilever beams and steadied by the second system of cantilever beams, thereby covering the interior and exterior wall panels and providing a support for their upper edges.

Further aims and advantages appear in connection with the following description of the illustrative embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a housing unit constructed according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical cross section thereof on the line 2-2 in Fig. 1, drawn to a larger scale;

Fig. 3 is an isometric view of the footings and supporting columns and cantilever roof panel supports, showing two panels in broken lines;

Fig. 4 is a vertical cross section of the same on line 4-4 in Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a column supporting shoe.

In the form of the invention illustrated in the drawings, wherein a single story structure is shown by way of example, the floor ll rests directly upon the ground, being made of any suitable p1astic.material, or wood supported upon concrete cinders, or other dry filling material I2. The columns I3 are four in number, either dimension lumber, or laminated sections, their lower ends being supported in metal shoes l4, embedded in a concrete footing or foundation the square whose corners are formed by the The upper ends of the posts it are connected by two systems of horizontally disposed cantilever beams l6, l1, each of the beams I! being laminated or built up sections secured near its middle flatwise against the side of the adjacent column l2 near the upper end of the latter, with one end projecting outwards and the inner end secured to the edge of an adjacent column, all of the inner ends abutting against the sides of the adjacent beams It, as shown in Fig. 3. The beams H are arranged in a similar series, above and crossing the supporting cantilever beams it near their middles, being secured to the adjacent columns fiatwise at their inner ends and overlying the upper edges of the beams l6 adjacent thereto between the columns. Lag screws or bolts are advantageously used for securing the frame members together.

The roof panels l8 are made of wood, the sides and ends being dimension lumber, and the celling l9 being /z" plywood, fibre board, or other suitable thin sheet material having insulating and sound-deadening properties. The roof panels are supported at their middles on the outwardly projecting arms of the main cantilever beams I6, and are preferably secured at their ends and along the inner halves of their side margins by bolts 20 to the adjacent portions of the secondary cantilever beams IT, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4.

In the illustrative form of the invention, the roof panels l8 are spanned across their tops by 2" x 2" strips 2!, spaced 16" on centers, for supporting two layers of insulating board 22 over which a continuous felt roof 23 is laid after the panels are secured in position. The outer edges of the insulating boards 22 are extended out over the eaves supports 24 and bent down and secured under the eaves boards 25, as shown in Fig. 2, to carry rain water away from the side walls 26 of the structure. Vertical blocks 21 are spiked to the outer side frame members of the roof panels l8 for positioning the upper edges of the side walls with respect to the edges of the roof. The

weight of the roof is carried by the cantilever wall 15, which extends around the four sides of N beams.

The exterior wall panels are disposed in two tiers, 26, 26, laid horizontally, and stiffened by 2" x 6" girts around their edges, secured at their ends to 2" x 6" vertical studs 36 at the cantilever beams, is shown in Fig. 1.

The partition walls 28 are preferably made of 2" x 2" wood strips and layers of sheet material such as plywood, plaster board, fibre board, or other sound and heat insulating material. As these partition walls are not required for giving support to the roof, they may be disposed to suit various desired interior plans of the structure.

A monitor roof 29 or cupola is provided to cover the center space between the upper ends of the columns l3. Preferably this monitor has partly open sides protected by louvres 30, to provide ventilation. In the space between the outer roof 22 and the roof panels l8, the two inch space between the strips 2| and the edge frame members of the roof panels serves as a duct to provide for ventilation and forced air heating. An inner ceiling 32 is supported from the columns l3 and cantilever beams It by suitable cross members, a ventilator opening 33 being provided in its center, as shown in Fig. 2, covered by a Celoglass panel 34 or other suitable removable closure. A central heater or air conditioner with forced circulation may advantageously be located in the lantern space 35, saving floor space.

The construction of the roof entirely independently of the side walls and partitions enables the upper portions of the side walls to be removed if desired for ventilation or other reason, and to be replaced with wire screen panels or glass sash. This construction also enables as much as a 20% saving to be made in the weight of the lumber used in walls and partitions without sacrifice of strength, thereby substantially reducing the cost of the edifice. A house of the type shown 26' square requires about 7000 ft. board measure of lumber.

Another advantage of this type of cantilever construction of the roof supports is that the floor plan may be changed at any time, even after erection, enabling a single set of framing plans to be used for many different floor plans and window and door arrangements, permitting a wide variety of units for various uses to be constructed without any change in manufacturing methods. Also, construction is facilitated by the fact that interior partitions and fixtures can be set before outside walls are in place. Thus the whole house is open on all 4 sides for the ready placing of these materials.

Furthermore, the frame, roof and exterior and interior walls may be erected and taken down readily and expeditiously, making this type of construction suitable for temporary buildings.

I claim the following as my invention: 1. A self-supported roof for small houses comprising four' columns spaced around-a central area, a series of cantflever beams the inner end of each beam spanning the space between two columns and pe pendicular to an adjacent beam, their outer ends projecting outwards to the four side wall lines of the house, and roof panels supported near their middles on the outer ends of said beams, respectively.

2. A self-supporting roof for small houses comprising four columns spaced around a central area, a series of cantilever beams with their inner ends spanning the spaces between said columns and their outer ends projecting outwards to the side wall lines of the house, and

roof panels supported near their middles on the outer ends of said beams, respectively, a second set of cantilever beams crossing above the first set near their middles and disposed between the sides of adjacent roof panels, and means for demountably connecting the panels and posts.

3. A self supported roof for small houses comprising columns spaced around a central area, a series of cantilever beams with their inner ends spanning the spaces between said columns and their outer ends projecting outwards to the side wall lines of the house, and roof panels supported near their middles on the outer ends of said beams, respectively, and a second set of cantilever beams crossing above the first set near their middles and disposed between the sides of adjacent roof panels.

4; A small house system of construction comprising .a central-foundation footing, columns supported thereon in parallel relation equidistant from the center of the house, each pair of columns supporting a transversely arranged cantilever beam having one end projecting outwards beyond the foundation approximately to the line of the outer wall and supporting a panel along a crosswise median line thereof, each of said .panels being secured at its inner ends to the side of an adjacent panel and at right angles thereto, whereby said panels and columns constitute a self-supporting structure independently of any outer or inner walls.

5. A small house system of construction comprising a central foundation footing, columns supported thereon in parallel relation equidistant from the center of the house, each pair of columns supporting a transversely arranged cantilever beam having one end projecting outwards beyond the foundation approximately to the line of the outer wall and supporting a panel along a crosswise median line thereof, a second similar series of cantilever beams the inner end of each of which overlies the inner end of one of the first series, each of said panels being secured at its inner marginal edges to the adjacent sides of said last named cantilever beams, whereby said panels and columns constitute a self-supporting structure independently of any outer walls.

6. In a small house system of construction, two series of cantilever beams supported by a central group of columns, one series overlying the other a series, each beam of the lower series having an inner length spanning the space between two columnsand secured thereto, and each beam of the upper series having an inner length overlying a corresponding length of the lower series and secured to the same columns, the outer lengths of said overlying beams in each series projecting outwardly in opposite directions.

7. In a small house system of construction, two series of cantilever beams supported by a central group of columns, one series overlying the other series, each beam of the lower series having an inner length spanning the space between two columns and secured thereto, and each beam of the upper series having an inner length overly g a corresponding length of the lower series and secured to the same columns, the outer lengths of said overlying beams in each series projecting outwardly in opposite directions, and panels supported on the outer lengths of the beams of the lower series and secured at their inner margins to the beams of the upper series.

8. A wooden frame demountable building comprising a square central foundation, posts erected on said foundation and spaced apart to provide roof supports intermediate the side wall lines of the building, cantilever beams perpendicular to each other and supported on said posts with their outer ends overhanging to points adjacent to said side wall lines, respectively, and roof panels carried on said outer portions of said a,su,soo

beams,saidmofpsneisspsnningthespsoewi in said side wall lines and outside of straight lines connecting said posts.

9. A wooden frame demountable building oom- Jrisingaoentraltmmdatiompostserectedon 8 said foundation and spaced apart to provide root supports-intermediate the side wall lines 0! the building two series of cantilever beams cross- 

